Sunday, May 23, 2010

The Stormers beat the Waratahs 25-6 in Cape Town in the second semifinal of the Super 14 yesterday. Centre Juan de Jongh scored the only try of the match, with flyhalf Peter Grant kicking six penalties and a conversion.

The two best defensive sides in the competition went head to head at Newlands, but it was the Stormers who reached their first ever Super 14 final and will face the Bulls in Orlando next weekend.

De Jongh, who has been included in the Springbok side to face Wales on the 5th June, scored his first ever Super 14 try as he stepped Kurtley Beale and wing Drew Mitchell on his way to the tryline.

The Stormers didn’t concede a point for the last 55 minutes, adding to their impressive defensive display throughout the tournament.

"It was typical semifinal rugby," Stormers captain Schalk Burger said. "It was pretty tough to get stuff going but at the end of the day we won it and that's all that matters."

Coach Allister Coetzee said he was relieved afterwards.

"The players had to grind this one out and that's what they did. That's how you win playoff matches. Our defence put them under pressure and kept winning penalties and it shows at the end on the scoreboard," he said.

"This is the side the media mocked in the past as a side that flatter to deceive and are a great team on paper. But this team has matured and we're happy that we have become part of history.

"But we have work to do next week and we respect the Bulls. They are the best team in the southern hemisphere and we are excited to have this opportunity," he added.

The South African derby, the first final of its kind since 2007, will be a bruising encounter next weekend. The Bulls might have the edge at home, but expect plenty Stormers fans to travel up for the big match.

Damn its gana be a good one next weekend I have a feeling that the old North V South rivalry is about to be re-born like the currie cup of old!! There is nothing better than the Stormers beating the bulls, COME ON STORMERS!!!!!

Poccio, it is to do with the new rules. If you are involved in the tackling of the player, you have to show daylight between him and yourself BEFORE you can go for the ball, giving the tackled player a chance to place the ball first. So even if you stay on your feet when you tackle the player you have to release the player first then go for the ball. This applies to everyone involved in the tackle, so I am guessing that there may be some issues around the interpretation of when a tackle is complete and if the incoming player is part of the tackle or after the tackle is complete.

go on stormers!!!!omg what a side step by that centre, just shows you that players of all sizes and shapes still have a place in the game, as juan de jongh isnt the tallest or biggest man on the field.

@Xavier peter 'bash' grant has played well this season.defense is rock solid.attack is pretty good. his distribution is pro.takes the ball on the gain line.(unlike other sa flyhalfs) and his kicking has improved alot. field kicking needs work tho.doesnt get much distance. he played for the boks befor actually.think his got 5 caps. im annoyd he not in the squad to face wales. hopefully he'l get a chance when we play italy in june

ref didn't seem to like waratahs, at 3.40 clearly released then got to his feet, after that another for someone not rolling away even thought the ball was the other side.how come the scrum half can move the ball with his hands and it still be in the ruck? i usually get annoyed when the hold it on the floor then look up the pass, the rule should be hands on = out

The ref didn't do the Tahs any favours, but they deserved to lose, with their handling errors during the match.The Tahs try to play a very high tempo, quick passing game, and their skills have to be excellent every game or the passes don't stick and the plays break down.In this game, probly cuz of the Stormers great defence, they couldn't make those passes stick.But when you play in a packed stadium against a South African side, the refs always seem to crack under pressure and favour the home team.Maybe it's cuz of that fat saffer who tackled that ref years ago.

The problem with the refs is that they show no consistency from one game to the next.

Maybe the attempted steal at 3.32 infringes against the new interpretations but the last penalty for "not releasing" involved a Waratahs player who was on his back with the tackled player and two other Stormers on top of him. He could not get away. He was not holding the tackled player in any way. He was not impeding the tackled player from playing the ball in any way.

The try looked nice but it was against the worst defender in world rugby - Kurtly Beale. The WORST.

Having said that however, the right team still one and the final will be a good one.

Its a pity that the Reds let the Tahs beat them in the first round. The wrong Aussie team was in Cape Town!

Stormers and Bulls are both great teams and I cannot wait to watch their epic showdown in a few days time. It's too bad the winner can't play the Euro champs as I think that'd be a hilarious slaughter. Stormers/Bulls would walk all over any European side.

@rehanb_bl - cheers for that. I know of a number of places that show the rugby but never sure if theyre showing the football or European rugby.This saturday for example both semis got bumped for the Heinken Cup final. So bit of a lottery at the moment.

Waugh gave away alot of penalties, but alot of them were probably not fair. The ref really favoured the Stormers in this one, especially at the ruck, where he wouldn't let the Tahs contest the ball.Not that the Stormers didn't deserve the win, their defence is excellent, and the Tahs couldn't get thru it, but the ref did them no favours.

Do you think they were all fair though joost? Just as an example, the penalty featured here, the first one, he wasn't involved in the tackle, the guy was on the ground, well and truly tackled.Waugh came, made the ruck and won the ball, like a no 7 is supposed to.

I think that the Tahs were frustrated that they couldn't get through the amazing Stormers defence and therefore they caused alot of penalties. Hope the Stormers beat the bulls on Sat - wouldn't it be ironic if the best defensive team wins this comp when the whole season they have pushed the rules to favour the attacking side!?!!! GO STORMERS!!!